Newton Food Centre aslo known as Newton Circus is popular with both locals and tourists alike for its local fare. It offers a wide variety of seafood, as well as local favourites like "Satay", "Otah", "Carrot Cake" and "BBQ Chicken Wings"

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Popular place for tourists and locals alike

This place has always been popular amongst tourists who'd like to have a taste of local food. It's a little overrated in my opinion, because I don't like the idea that hawkers tend to mark up the prices of the food here (perhaps due to their knowledge that tourists frequent this place?). If a tourist wants to visit this place, it would be best to come with a local friend or guide so that you don't get cheated by hawkers who tend to take advantage of tourists.

Touting is common at Newton Food Center, but one should not be obliged to order from a particular stall just because the hawker finds you a good table to sit at. This is the mistake I made - chose to order from a hawker before checking out the rest of the stalls because the hawker found me a good table, the food tasted horrible and was overpriced, and I didn't enjoy my experience that much overall.

There are many stalls here so take your time to explore and try as many dishes as you can - do take note of the ones which have newspaper cuttings/reports/awards because those are usually the more popular ones.

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User rating summary from: 21 user(s)

Hub For Local Food

A popular spot among tourist, it really is no surprise since you can enjoy a series of local cuisines all at one spot. This place is ideal for dinner after the sun sets because it can get pretty hot if you go in the afternoons. I headed there for dinner with a few friends and the atmosphere was pretty good. Busy and bustling, you hear laughters and conversations- the sights and sounds of it all makes it a festival within itself.

Apart from the atmosphere, the most important subject at a food centre is obviously, the food. Ordered local cuisines BBQ chicken wings, oyster omelette, Satay and salted egg crabs with mantou we enjoyed a full scrumptious meal. The highlight of the meal really was the crabs. The salted egg sauce was think and creamy, but not too overwhelmingly salty. Twinning it with the fluffy and slightly sweet mantou, it created an orgasm for the taste buds. (Just thinking of the experience is making me crave it)

The only gripe is that the
It definitely is a place I'll visit again, but it's only fun if you go with a rather large group of friends. The community spirit and laid back vibe of the space really makes the meal one that you want to go back again and again.

One of the best local spots

I've been going to Newton since I was a kid and its still one of my favourite places in Singapore because I've got lots of fond memories from there. Needless to say the must try dish here is the BBQ Stingray and I'm having a huge craving for it right as I'm typing this.

Obviously Newton was made to be a tourist spot so expect to see the hawkers trying to make a sale to anybody walking past and of course expect higher prices than at other hawker centres. Why then do I keep going back? Simply because the atmosphere is great. And once you've been enough times, you start to make friends with thee hawkers and my family and I no longer have to state our drink orders because Michael (the drink store man) already knows exactly what they are.

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Quite good but not the best

I think a lot of Singaporeans avoid going to Newton Food Centre because it is notoriously known as a "tourist trap". I think it's a bit of a shame because the food is actually not bad though pricey.

To me, the satay, fried carrot cake, fish soup and prawn mee are all pretty good, though they're 20% - 40% more expensive than the average. The central location of the food centre works well for tourists as well.

Not the cheapest, not the best, and not something I would go out of my way to eat. It's worth trying at least once though!

The hard sell from the stall owners really puts me off though. It gives off the impression that they are so ravenous for profits and that kind of kills the charm of local hawker fare. I think I would still opt for Maxwell, Tiong Bahru Market or Bedok 85!

locate the gems

Newton Food Centre is one of my favourites. Despite it being a tourist site, the food is amazing, if you can find the right stalls.The prices are a little hiked up as compared to other hawker centres like the one at Old Airport Road, but Newton is definitely still worth visiting. Majority if not all stalls open late into the night so it's a great place to grab supper.

What I don't like about the place is that the stall owners try to recommend their food and pull you into a seat before you can even explore the variety of cuisines offered in the food centre. But hey, it's a tourist spot so it's expected and they don't hang around if you reject them, so it's not so much of a problem.

I always frequent the same old stalls so for tourists going there for the first time, it's best to get a local who knows the place well to recommend you the best stalls at Newton.

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A perfect hawker centre for seafood lovers

I love stingrays, clams, satays, squids, crabs; I just love seafood! Other than the over-crowded Chomp Chomp food center, Newton food center is certainly the next best alternative.

With friendlier staffs working there, they welcome you by handing you their menus whilst helping you to find a perfect seat for your meal. Worry not if you that you would have no idea how to get the order going. The stall owners will recommend their signature dishes and I personally love spicy clams. Not everyone loves it though.

The prices of the dishes are reasonable for me because the seafood that they use are really fresh. The spacious environment of the hawker has also allowed consumers to enjoy their food better, unlike that of Chomp Chomp where the seats are so close to the food stalls, making consumers feel all heaty and sweaty. To top it up, Newton food center is highly recommended if you want to try out seafood in a more spacious and comfortable environment.

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not advisable for tourists to go without having any locals around

Newton hawker centre has always been one of the places I frequent for supper after a night out, where I can order my fishball soup or cockles and sugarcane juice. I like it when they are still open way past midnight where most other places would have been closed, and the convenient location near Orchard Road.

Having said that, I realized I have only had dinner there once when I had friends coming from overseas. All my other visits are for supper only. Prices are on the high side for hawker food and I have heard tourists complaining about the exorbitant prices that they have been charged for BBQ seafood when they go on their own without being accompanied by any locals. So tourists, do get local friends to bring you there if possible ...

Expensive but accessible for Tourists

I do not see anything different here compared to other hawker centres in Singapore other than the price. They offer local dishes that can be found in East Coast lagoon or Chomp Chomp. Moreover, for taste wise, the satays or sting rays are as good as those mentioned earlier.

The question is now, why do still tourists come here. Firstly, tourists would not know that these prices are higher than usual. Secondly, most tourists would prefer to stay at hotels in the central area and this is the closest to the vicinity for local food enthusiast. Last reason may be the inaccessibility of Chomp Chomp and East coast. I would rather use my time to visit tourist spots than travelling for same local food but slightly different prices.

Expensive or not, this place still lands on my recommendation list for foreigners to visit. Heavenly local dishes are served here with ice cold beer.

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May be a tourist trap but there is still good food to be found

I guess enough have been said and reported in the media about how tourists – and in some cases locals - get touted to pay a much higher rate for their food at this hawker center. While unhappy about the exorbitant prices of seafood here, I nevertheless find plenty of stalls that keep me returning.

First of which is the fish head bee hoon stall near the front end of the hawker center. With the soup that has been painstakingly seasoned boiled to perfection, the taste and saltiness of the dish is almost perfect.

Also, the Thai food stall near the entrance of the hawker center offers one of the better green curries that I have tasted across Singapore. Cooked by native Thai chefs, this is pretty close to what you can expect to eat in Thailand itself.

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Hungry for more

Located just a convenient distance away from Newton MRT station, this little stop of food heaven is worth travelling a long distance for. In part of sweeping initiatives by the government to upgrade, modernise and improve the image of hawker centres, Newton Food Centre has been under renovation for a while, coming out with a fresh new look.

There are many stalls to choose from for a satisfying meal. Don't let the first impression of the place deceive you, though if you visit it in the afternoon and notice that more than half the stores are shuttered, the business there is in full swing. Crowds of business executives, students and elderly/housewives crowd there during lunchtime to savour a tasty meal. My first meal there was hokkien mee and my, did it taste really good! The smooth texture of the noodles, the lack of oil and the steamed prawns and rich taste literally made my day. My subsequent visits entailed dishes like fried mee, chicken and duck rice, roasted delights. All above the standard offered by normal hawker centres. Even the wide variety of drinks is delightful. The sugarcane with lemon is their trademark drink on sale.

Another upgraded hawker centre

I think the government had done a good job upgrading the hawker centres in Singapore especially those that tourists visit. The new hawker centre is more spacious, well lit and better ventilated. The overall impression is also of a more hygienic eating place.

But if you are looking for the old Singapore, our eating place was not this clean and we needed to sweat a lot when we were having our meals. The whole place gave a "warm" feeling and the lighting was provided by the stalls so you may not see what you were eating so clearly.

I guessed we needed to move away from the old image and portray this new, clean and efficient image to the world. Progress comes with a price, I hope the price is not the loss of good food. When your first priority is hygienic food, good tasting food becomes second priority.